After the Democratic Convention in Denver, CO, Obama will have a bounce in poll numbers and support simply because he won’t have two opponents to contend with – and make no mistake, he does have two opponents. Although, the Clinton campaign is not technically contending for the Democratic nomination, Hillary has continued to loom in the hearts and minds of the main stream media (MSM), voters and the candidates. There are always talking-points, storylines or articles with at least undertones of “I bet Hillary would have a bigger lead on McCain”, “the Obama Campaign isn’t showing enough respect to the Clintons”, “Obama can’t win Hillary voters” and finally “Hillary got snubbed on the VP pick.” Regardless of who wins the presidential election in November, there will probably be Hillary Clinton bumper stickers with the slogan “What Would Hillary Clinton Do?”
The problem is not completely the MSM’s fault, though. For all the surface-level talk of Obama support from Hillary and her surrogates, she will finally make the definitive move for true Obama support by releasing her delegates to vote for him on Wednesday of convention week. I don’t fault the Clinton campaign for this and neither should other Obama supporters. Yes, it delays Obama being the undisputed decision-maker for the Democratic Party, but put yourselves in the shoes of Hillary and her supporters. If Obama had lost the primary, wouldn’t you demand that his issues of change in Washington be addressed by Hillary Clinton in a dramatic way?
This being said, Barack Obama’s leadership ability, which led him to become the Democratic presidential nominee, will be on display to the entire nation this week and specifically Thursday night when he speaks. He will have to show the country why the majority of Democrats, Independents and even some Republicans believe his policies will create a stronger, more prosperous America. He must talk about specifics like his middle-class tax cuts, closing corporate tax loopholes which make it cheaper to export U.S. jobs, healthcare, and his plan to create a renewable energy industry to reduce foreign oil dependency. But first, he must begin by unifying the party by slaying (hopefully with kindness and not by sword) the Clinton dragon which dominates the minds of the MSM and the voters.
Germaine Smith